The Loving Banana Story
The squirrel brothers went to visit old Koala, who was sick.
Recently, old Koala’s belly had become quite big, and he was suffering from severe constipation.
Rubbing his belly, which felt like a “septic tank,” old Koala said he just wanted to eat some bananas.
In the forest, only Uncle Monkey had a banana grove, but everyone knew that Uncle Monkey had a bad temper, and it was very hard to get bananas from him.
The squirrel brothers were anxious. Old Koala had no children, and he could barely move. What should they do?
The brothers decided to approach Uncle Monkey and try to trade their best goods for his bananas.
Squirrel Brother asked first, “Uncle Monkey, how about I trade you two bags of the best, most fragrant, and crispiest nuts for a bunch of bananas?”
“No way!” Uncle Monkey said impatiently, “I have a toothache and can’t eat nuts. You better keep them for yourself!”
“Then, how about I trade you some fresh and delicious bird eggs for a bunch of bananas?” Squirrel Brother asked tentatively.
“No way! I’m eating vegetarian now. I don’t eat that stuff,” Uncle Monkey said, his temper flaring. “And besides, if you’ve stolen those eggs, the bird mama will be heartbroken!”
“Uncle Monkey,” Squirrel Brother had an idea and asked, “Can I trade something else for your bananas?”
“What other treasure do you have?”
“Actually, it’s some news—old Koala has severe constipation, and he really wants to eat bananas to help him relieve it…”
Hearing this, Uncle Monkey’s expression changed, and he remained silent for a moment.
“If these bananas were for Grandpa Squirrel, I’d give you just one bunch. But since they’re for old Koala…” Uncle Monkey suddenly changed his tone, “I’ll give you a whole basket!”
“Thank you so much! But why?” The squirrel brothers were overjoyed but puzzled.
“Because most people can be filial to their own parents—that’s filial piety,” Uncle Monkey paused and then continued, “But to show kindness and care toward someone else’s parents is very rare—that is compassion! What I, Uncle Monkey, respect most is people like that.”
After saying this, Uncle Monkey picked a whole basket of golden-yellow bananas and gave them to the squirrel brothers.
The squirrel brothers carried the basket, feeling both excited and deeply moved. They couldn’t wait to tell old Koala that these bananas were obtained from Uncle Monkey with something called “compassion”—the loving bananas.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
